As Strong a Place as any in the World

In many histories of the English Civil Wars, the 1643 siege of King’s Lynn in Norfolk is little more than a footnote to the ‘real’ fighting taking place elsewhere. In As Strong a Place as Any in the World, however, author David Flintham argues that, far from being a historical backwater, the siege was a pivotal event. King’s Lynn would prove critical to the successes of the Army of the Eastern Association during the remainder of 1643 and throughout 1644. The town was subsequently refortified, transforming it into one of the strongest fortresses in the country.

Looking at the wider geographical picture, the author contends that the drainage of the Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire Fens, which had originally provided East Anglia with a natural landward frontier, had a demonstrable influence on the course of the Civil Wars. The changing landscape helped enable Oliver Cromwell’s rise to prominence and subsequently made it necessary to construct a number of fortifications to resist Royalist incursions from the north-west, turning East Anglia into one of the most heavily fortified regions in the country.

Combining extensive archival research with recent first-hand archaeological evidence, this new study is the first to examine the war from the perspective of this strategically important region of eastern England. In doing so, it places the siege of King’s Lynn firmly within its wider national context and demonstrates its significance to the course of the conflict.

As Strong a Place as Any in the World will appeal not only to historians and students of the English Civil Wars, but also to those interested in local, landscape and military history.